Shloka 43

शिखराणां समृद्धानामुपरिष्टात्‌ समन्तत: । वायसाश्व रुवन्त्युग्रं वामं मण्डलमाश्रिता:,फल-फूलसे सम्पन्न वृक्षोंकी शिखाओंपर बायीं ओरसे घूम-घूमकर सब ओर कौए बैठते हैं और भयंकर काँव-काँवका कोलाहल करते हैं

śikharāṇāṃ samṛddhānām upariṣṭāt samantataḥ | vāyasāś ca ruvanty ugraṃ vāmaṃ maṇḍalam āśritāḥ ||

Vyāsa dit : «Sur les cimes hautes des arbres florissants, riches de fruits et de fleurs, tout autour, les corbeaux se sont rassemblés et, suivant une ronde vers la gauche, poussent des cris rauques dans un vacarme effroyable.» Dans le contexte de la guerre, c’est un signe de mauvais augure : la nature elle-même semble avertir de la destruction imminente et de la gravité morale du conflit.

शिखराणाम्of the tops/peaks
शिखराणाम्:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootशिखर
FormNeuter, Genitive, Plural
समृद्धानाम्of the flourishing/abundant (ones)
समृद्धानाम्:
Adhikarana
TypeAdjective
Rootसमृद्ध
FormNeuter, Genitive, Plural
उपरिष्टात्above, on the upper side
उपरिष्टात्:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootउपरिष्टात्
समन्ततःon all sides, all around
समन्ततः:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसमन्ततः
वायसाःcrows
वायसाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवायस
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
अश्वquickly / at once
अश्व:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअश्व
रुवन्तिcry, caw
रुवन्ति:
TypeVerb
Rootरु
FormPresent, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada
उग्रम्terrible, fierce
उग्रम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootउग्र
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
वामम्left (inauspicious)
वामम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootवाम
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
मण्डलम्circle, circuit (orbiting movement)
मण्डलम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमण्डल
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
आश्रिताःhaving resorted to / occupying
आश्रिताः:
TypeVerb
Rootआ-श्रि
Formक्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

व्यास उवाच

V
Vyāsa
C
crows (vāyasāḥ)
T
treetops/peaks (śikharāṇi)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores that adharma and mass violence are not merely human affairs; they reverberate through the world as ominous portents. It invites ethical reflection: when a conflict is morally catastrophic, even ordinary signs in nature are read as warnings to restrain destructive impulses and reconsider one’s course.

Vyāsa reports a battlefield-omen: crows gather on the tops of flourishing trees and circle to the left while cawing harshly. Such behavior is traditionally interpreted as inauspicious, foreshadowing calamity and death as the great war approaches.